Jerry Lee Lewis and His Turbulent Marriages
Legendary rock star Jerry Lee Lewis has had a tumultuous history when it comes to his marriages. At just 14 years old, he tied the knot with his first wife, Dorothy. However, the marriage was short-lived as Lewis divorced her just two years later, only to marry Janet a week after. It seemed like Lewis couldn’t catch a break as he then married his third wife, Myra, who happened to be his 13-year-old cousin. Shockingly, he divorced Janet a full five months after marrying Myra.
Unfortunately, the marriage to Myra was far from blissful. Lewis struggled with alcoholism, infidelity, and domestic abuse towards his young wife. Tragedy struck when their son, Stephen, drowned in their pool while under Myra’s care, leading Lewis to blame her for the accident.
The relationship took a darker turn when Lewis, in a drunken rage, verbally abused Myra over the phone. Disturbingly, when she threatened to take her own life with a pistol, Lewis callously asked her to put the phone closer so he could hear the gunshot. Unsurprisingly, Myra filed for divorce shortly after this incident in 1970.
The string of misfortune continued for Lewis in his subsequent marriages. His fourth wife, Jaren, tragically drowned just days after filing for divorce. Wife number five, Shawn Stephens, passed away from a methadone overdose, with an empty prescription bottle belonging to Lewis found in their medicine cabinet.
In 1984, Lewis, then 48 years old, married 22-year-old Kerrie McCarver. Despite their significant age gap, the couple seemed to defy the odds. However, Lewis shocked many by announcing his intention to marry Lisa Marie Presley in 1989. When questioned about how Kerrie felt about this, Lewis callously replied, “That’s her problem. I never promised her a rose garden.”
Jerry Lee Lewis’s rollercoaster of marriages has been filled with tragedy, controversy, and heartache. Despite his fame and success in the music industry, his personal life has been marred by a series of failed relationships and untimely deaths.
